Episode Details

This week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Tom Dykstra, the founder and laboratory director at Dykstra Labs, who also has advanced degrees in entomology and has worked with Dr. Phil Callahan.

In this episode, we talk about plant and insect communications, and how plants can only see and feed on plants who are unhealthy (insects are only attracted to unhealthy plants). We also discuss Dr. Dykstra's current day work in bioelectromagnetics, entomology, and agriculture. This episode is a truly amazing glimpse into these very fascinating areas and how they relate to plant physiology.

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Episode 4 - Dr. Dykstra - Highlights

3:00 - What memorable moments lead Tom to where he is today?

• Getting fired at the University of Florida leading to the path he's on now
• Work with flea larvae leading into Tom's PhD project
• Insect bioelectromagnetics

5:40 - What is the potential impact of Tom's work on agriculture? What might farmers be able to apply?

• Optimizing photosynthesis to optimize Brix level - leading to healthier plants

8:30 - Photosynthesis thoughts. How much is it possible to increase photosynthesis beyond what is normal? What tools can optimize it?

• You can increase it substantially
• Most plants between 4-8 brix. 12 serious insect damage stops. 14 is a genuinely healthy plant
• Plants are not working up to anywhere near their potential
• It's a matter of getting the photosynthetic rate up
• Need to not be putting up blockages - ex. pesticides
• Brix is by far the easiest thing to do to measure plant health
• Need to be weaning off pesticides immediately

17:30 - What can we do to increase energy flow in the soil profile?

• How much can you afford to lose? Start here
• Allow weeds to grow here - put out sugar as often as you can
• This is the cheapest and simplest way to clean out soil as fast as one season
• Switching over immediately can be a little painful, but anyone can transition slowly
• Cover crops can also help, but not quite as fast
• Erosion has recently become a problem

25:00 - Cover crops or applying sugar directly

• Cover crops take time and can help soil more over time - directly applying sugar is a massive dose
• Variety of cover crops is better than just one

27:30 - Why has erosion become such a challenge?

• Because microbes are gone - leadin